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14 September 2021

KAZUKI YAMADA NAMED AS NEW CBSO

CHIEF CONDUCTOR

Japanese conductor to succeed Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla in 2023

(c) Zuzanna Specjal
This article originally appeared in Gramophone magazine.

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has announced that the successor to Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
will be Kazuki Yamada.

The Japanese conductor is already a familiar figure to the CBSO’s players and audiences alike, as he’s been
the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor since 2018, having made his debut with the ensemble back in
2012.

His appointment – as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor – begins on April 1, 2023 for an initial four and
a half-year period.

‘I first worked with the CBSO in 2012 and immediately felt a very sincere connection with the players,’ said
Yamada. ‘This connection has really grown and developed over the last nine years; our tour together to
Japan in 2016 was one of the highlights of my career. After this the relationship was even deeper. I am so